Machine for making wire garment hangers



Dec. 26, 1933. D. 8. Bon s 1,941,430

MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Filed May 16, 1952 e Sheets-Sheet 1 gwbmtov I $1 (Qua Jam M Dec. 26, 1933. v D. s. BOYLES MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Filed May 16, 1932 G SheetS Sheet 2 Dec. 26, 1933. BoYl-Es 1,941,430

' mcmnz 'FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Filed May 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Dec. 26, 1933.

D S BOYLES MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Filed May 16, 1932 6 Sheet-Shget 4 Dec. 26, 1932..

D. S. BOYLES MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS Filed May 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 v 35 L@ 3mm 37 ian.

Patented Dec. 26,- 1933 15941330 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE GARMENT HANGERS David S. Boyles, Rock Hill; S. 0., assignor to National Wire Goods Manufacturing Company, a partnership composed of- David S. Boyles, W. J. Boyles, and J. Van Boyles Application May 16, 1932. SerialNo. 611,725

10 Claims. (Cl. 140-71) The invention has relation to machines for other, the lower slide carrying the lowerdivider making wire garment hangers, having for an obblade 6 aforesaid,. and the upper slide carrying ject to provide an improved machine for forming the upper divider blade 6, the rearward movethe hangers proper, twisting the wire ends to form ment of the operating rod 7 causingthe lower -5 a shank, and bending the longer of said wire ends divider blade to be carried rearwardly. to release to form a hook. Another object is to provide the lowermost wire blank 3 resting thereon, the improved means for forming the "right-angle endupper divider blade being simultaneously carried bends and twisting said end-bends together to forward beneath the vertical series of blanks 3 in form a shank. Another object is to provide imthe slot to support said seriesflzhe lower wire proved hook forming means. Other objects and blank so released'falling in said slot and coming as advantages will appear hereinafter. to rest upon wire blank bending levers 13, of fIhe invention consists in the-novel construction which there are two. In the reverse movement and combinations of parts as set forth in the of the operating rod 7, the lower divider blade is appended claims. brought forwardly beneath the lowermost wire In the accompanying drawings illustrating an blank to support the series of wire blanks in the 70 v embodiment of the invention Figure 1 is a side slot 5, and theupper divider blade is retracted elevation of the machine with parts broken away; from beneath the wire blanks. This wire blank Figure 1a is a side view of the'parts so broken feeding mechanism is disclosed in Patent away; Figure 2 is a topplan view of the machine '#1,'I 71,951 dated July 29, 1930.

with parts removed and parts in section; Figure The wire blank bending levers 13 work.hori- "l6 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 on alarger scale zontally and are fulcrumed at 14 to the framing, with parts broken away and parts removed; Fig-' being provided with upstanding projections 15, ure 4 is a section on the line 44, Figure 1; Figwhich cooperate with spaced upstanding proure 5 is a detail plan view'showing the wire ends. jections 28 of the framing, and around which of the hanger bent preparatory to twisting the the wire blank end portions are bent in the opera- 80' same together; Figure 6 is a similar view showing tion of said levers, so that these end portions are the twister head in position engaging the wire brought towards each other, thereby forming 1 ends andthe same twisted together; Figure 'l is a the hanger ends A.. The projections 15 at the similar view showing the-hook forming head in free ends of the levers 13 constitute jaws, within position preparatory to forming the hook in the notches 16' of which the adjacent end portions-85 wire end; Figure 8 is a similar view showing the of'the wire 3 are received and clamped .by means twister head rotated to form the hook; Figure 9 to be described-so that the hanger is securely is a detail plan view, partly broken away, of the held during the twisting of the shank thereof delivery mechanism; Figure '10 is a section on the and during the formation of the hook-thereof.

line 10-10, Figures; Figure 11 is a section onthe clamping means also forms the bends B 90 n Figure Figure 12 1 detail P in the upper part of the hanger adjacentthe view of the finished hanger and F gure 13=is a t L n} v detail edge View of the same- I The operating means for these levers 13 con- In these drawings, the numeral 1 designates the sists of a horizontally working slide 17, moving I main frame, whereon is supported a horizontal upon guides 18 of the framing" and having at 95 rack the We cut to proper length one end pivoted links 18' connecting the same and {ed horizontally and forwardly into a vertiwith the levers 13 Said slide being given a cal slot 5, having capacity to receive twelve blanks t movemen't b rot-a shaft 19 through more or less, the lowermost blank 3 resting uponmca to the lower of divider blades 6, these wire blanks 5x 325 21 Jazz-fir sf 'g' g a grove gherfi 100 being released and falling downwardly one at a in works a roller 21 of. lever 22, to vibrate said time 'by movement of operating rod 7, the forward end of which is pivoted to the lower end of level upon fulcrum Shaft the free end arm 8, fast to and depending-from rock shaft 9, of the ev having rod 24 00111500171118 the V said shaft having fast thereto rocker lever 10, same with said slide. The rod 24 has astud 25105 extendingabove and .below the shaft and at its engaging;one arm. of a lever 26 to cause. the upper and lower ends having pivoted thereto links other arm of said. lever to engage stud. 27 f the '11, two in number, the forward ends 'of said links rod 7 to move the latter rearwardly upo forbeing pivoted to horizontal slides, also two in numward movement of rod 24 to thereby release one 5 berjand sliding one above and in contact with the wire blank'3, reverse movement of the rod 7 takno These slides are operated by pawls 29' of levers 30, said levers being fulcrumed at 31, and having link connection 32 with lever 33, the latter being fulcrumed at 34 and having its tail arm 35 engaged by the slide 17 in the rearward movement thereof to operate said lever and hold the same with the slides 29 so' moved forwardly.

When the wire blank bending levers .13 reach 5 final clamping position, asshown in Figure 3, the

free ends thereof cooperate with a thin blade 38 carried by frame head 3'7, said blade cooperating with the notches 16 of said levers to force the wire within the same and properly shape this 20 part of the hanger, the spaced opposed extremities 39 of the free or jaw ends of said levers cooperating with an upright stud or. projection 41 of the framing so that in the operation of levers 13 the end portions of the wire blank will be bent around projections 28 of the framing and brought towards each other'and thereafter right angle bends C, will be formed therein. These right angle bends are formed by the free jaw ends of levers 13 cooperating with blade 38 to cause the wire tp be pressed within the grpoves 16 of said jaw ends and cooperating with the projection or stud 41 to cause the wire to be pressed within the grooves 16' of the spaced opposed extremities 39 of said jaw ends. The wire ends so formed are spaced apart by said stud or projection 41;and,

remain so spaced apart during engagement with the twister head to be described, whereby said end bends C will have the outer portions thereof twisted together to form an outer twisted shank portion and will have the inrier portions thereof nection 38 with the frame head 3'7, this adjustmerit providing means for adjusting the paral lelism of the spaced wire ends so that these wire 7 ends may be more readily engaged with the aperture of the twister head. 7

In the twisting of the spaced wire ends to form the shank of thehanger, a transversetwister carriage 44 isenoved inwardly and outwardly by means'of a cam 45 upon shaft 19, said cam having a suitably shaped groove wherein works a roller '46 of lever 4'7, to vibrate said lever upon its-fulcrum shaft 23, the free end of the lever having la rod 48 connecting it with lever 49, fulcrumed 50 upon shaft 50, the other arm of said lever having a rod 51'connecting it with the twister carriage. This carriage has a shaft 53, having bearings in the framing at 54, one bearing at each side of the carriage, the latter at its other end sliding upon the framing at 55. The twister shaft 56 upon said carriage bears at its inner end the twister head 57, said head being provided with a diametric groove, wherein fit slides 5'7, formed with complementary recesses to provide a cone-- 0 shaped recess leading to the'aperture-of said head, said recess serving'as a guide for the spaced wire ends into said aperture. These slides have a slot and bolt adjustment to accurately gage the said aperture for size. The twister head has a key-way for four-fifths of its length, engaging 1 started back in their retractive movement, therethe key of pinion 58, said pinion meshing with gear 59, the latter being rotated one-fourth in one direction to rotate the pinion to give the ,desired twist to the shank wires, being thenrotated one-fourth reversely to normal position. Thisrotation is given by means of a cam 60, on the shaft l9.aforesaid,.said cain engaging belllever 61, having operating connection 62. with the shaft 63 of gear 59.

During the retraction of the twister carriage, a. hook forming means is brought upwardly to position to engage the extremity of the longer of the shank wires to form the same into a hook. This hook forming means comprises a rotary head 64, carrying upper rollers 65 and 66, both of which are eccentric relative to the shaft 6'7 of said head. These-rollers or projections 65 and 66 have the major portions thereof located both upon one semi-circular half of a face of the rotary head 64, whereby the hook. is enabled to be formed by a lesser rotary movement of said head than if'said rollers were oppositely eccentric to the axis of rotation of said head, to thereby speed up the operation ofthe machine and produce more hangers in a given time, and the hook is better released upon reverse rotation of said head in that said rollers move? more directly away from the hook in such release This head being brought upwardly to position as stated, the extremity of the longer of the shank wires lies positioned between said rollers, whereupon said head is rotated counter-clckwise approximately one-half around. At the same time that the rotary head 64 is brought upwardly to position as stated, an abutment device- 68 is brought to position against the twisted shank D. During .the first part of the rotation of the head 64, the

eccentric roller 65 bears against theend portion of the longer wire end to form an initial bend in the wire in an oblique direction relative to the shank D. The rotation of the head being con: tinued, eccentric roller '66 acts to bend the wire end portion around ,the roller 65 to form the complete hook, of which said initial bend is a part, both rollers pushing in opposite directions against the wire end portion in forming the hook.

The rotary head isnow moved clockwise or retracted and at the start of this retractive' movement the hook isreleased, both rollers leaving the hook. Atthis time also the levers 13 are by completing the release of the hanger, which is then gripped by the delivery means to be'described. The rotary hook-forming head is mounted at the upper end of a. vertical shaft 67, said shaft being moved upwardly to active position'by cam '70, engaging a roller 71' of lever '71,

said lever having a forked free end engaging' between the arms, of a yoke '72, loose upon said shaft, the latter having upper and lower collars to maintain said yoke in proper position upon the shaft; A'spring '73 acts to hold lever '71 against cam '70, and also to retract shaft 6'7 to down position with head 64 out of action.

The abutment device 68 is carried at one end of a lever 68', having link connection .68", with said leverql. At the start of the reverse rotation of the head 64, the hook formingmeans ineluding said'head is started downwardly, there! by admitting of some release of the hook prior to disengagement of the rollers 65 and 66 therewith, and avoiding any deformation of the hook, in said release. e

The main power shaft 20 drives a shaft '74 by bevel gears '75, the shaft '74 bearing the cams 15g '10 and also acam 76, the latter operating a lever 77, fulcrumed at its lowerrend at '78, said lever having a roller 79 bearing 'on said eam..

The shaft 67 of the hook forming head is rotated back and forth or oscillated by means of a pinion 80, keyed to said shaft and having supporting bearings in the framing adapted to permit the vertical reciprocation of said shaft, said pinion being engaged by segment gear 81, pivoted at 82 and the tail arm of which has pivotal connection with a link 83, the opposite end of said link .being pivoted to the upper end of the lever 77.

levers in closed position during the twisting andhook forming operations and releases the hanger at the time the delivery mechanism picks up the hanger.

The hangers being completely formed as stated arepicked up one at a time from their horizontal position 'on the bed of the machine, moved through an arc of about forty five degrees and placed upon an overhead horizontal rack 84 having vertical support 84' by the delivery'mechanism as follows:

Parallel opposite spaced lever fingers 85 are fulcrumed at their inner ends at 86 centrally of a carrier loop 87, said loop having opposite parallel branches or arms 88, each carried by a horizontal stub shaft 89, the stub shafts being aligned and given a vibratory movementto move said loop and fingers through an arc of about forty five degrees by means of crank arm 90, upon shaft 23, said arm having a connecting rod 91, with a crank arm 92, upon one of said stub shafts.

Means are provided to separate and release the lever fingers as they arrive at the limit of their downward movement so that they may engage or grip the twisted shank of the hanger through the action .of their connecting spring, and to separate and release said fingers as they arrive at their upward limit of movement, in order to deposit the hangers upon the rack 84, the loops of the hangers being engaged with said rack, this means being as follows:

An angle lever 93 is pivoted in bearings 94 of the bridge arm of the carrier loop 87, the tail arms 93', 93", of said angle lever contacting with abutments 95 and 96 at the times stated to move the other arm of the angle lever axially, thereby moving a crank lug 9'? upon said arm to work a slide-98 fitting in bearings between theroot ends of said fingers, toggle levers 99 having the meeting ends thereof pivoted to the slide and the outer ends thereof pivoted respectivelyto said fingers. The slide 98 is preferably made 7 with a recess intermediate of its length wherein the crank lug 97 engages. The lever fingers 85 are provided with jaw faces 100, held normally in contact by the aforesaid spring, designated 101.

' having end bends spaced apart and for twisting 1 said spaced end bends in part togetherto form an outer twisted shank portion including a stationary former devicelocated between and separating the inner portions of said end bends during the twisting to make a V-formbend in the shank at the inner portion thereof.

2. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for bending wire blanks into form having end bends spaced aparfaand for twisting said end bends in part together to form an, outer twistedshank portion and for retaining said'end bends in part spaced apart and making an inner V-form shank portion, said means including a stationary former device located between and separating the inner portions of said end bends during the said twisting.

3. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for bending wire blanks into form having end bends spaced apart and for twisting said end bends in part together to form an outer twisted shank portion and for retaining said end bends in part spaced apart and making an inner V-form shank portion, 'said\ means including wire bending levers having spaced opposed jaw ends and a stationary former device locatedbetween and separating said opposed jaw ends and separating. the inner portions of said end bends during the said twisting.

4. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for bending wire blanks into form having end bends spaced apart and for twistingsaid spaced end bends in part together to form an outer twisted shank portion, including wire bending levers havifig spaced opposed free jaw ends and a stationary former device located J between and .separating said opposed. jaw ends and separating the inner portions of said end. bends during the twisting to make a V-form bend in the shank at the inner portion thereof.

5. In a machine for making "wire garment hangers, means for bending .wire blanks into form having right angle end bends and for twisting said end bends in part together to form a shank and for locking the bending means in clamping position prior to the twisting including wire bending levers having spaced opposed free jaw ends provided with notches having right angle extensions and a" former device located between and separating saidopposed jawends and separating the roots of said end bends during the twisting, and a stationary head having a blade engaging said notches."

-6. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, means for bending wire blanks into form having right-angle end bends and for twisting said end bends in part together to form a shank andfor locking the bending means in clampingpositionprior to, the twisting includ ingwire bending levers having spaced opposed free jaw ends provided with notches having right-angle extensions, and a former device located between and separating said opposed jaw ends and separating the roots of .the end bends during the twisting, and astationary head having a blade engaging said notches, said former device being tapered and said blade being ad- 149v just able to adjust' the parallelism of said end bends prior to the twisting.

7. Inbmachine .for making wire garment hangers having'means for bending wire blanks" into hanger form having end bends of different lengths, means for twisting said end bends in part together to form a twisted shank, and means for bending the end portion'of the, longenoi' said end bends into hook form including a rotary head and two projections upon said head and 150 projections being located upon one semi-circular half of a face of said head, whereby the hook 6 is enabled to be formed by a lesser rotary move-.

ment of said head and the hook is better released upon reverse rotation of said head.

8. In a machine for making wire garment hangers having means for bending wire blanks into hanger form having end bends of different lengths, means fortwisting said end bends in part together to form a twistedshank and means for bending the end portion of the longer of said end bends into hook form including a rotary head and tworollers upon said head and both of which are eccentric to the axis of rotation of said, head; the major portions of .both of said rollers being located upon one semi-circular half of a face of said head, whereby the hook is enhangers having means for bending wire blanks into hanger form having end bends of different lengths, means for twisting said end bends in part together to form a twisted shank including a reciprocatory twister carriage, and means for bending the end portion of the longer of, said end bends into hook form including a rotary head and two projections upon said head and both of which are eccentric to the axis of rota-v tion of said head; an abutment device, and means operating during the retraction of the twister carriage to move said head upwardly to engage said wire end portion between said projections and to simultaneously move said abutment device upwardly to engage said twisted shank, to thereafter rotate said head to form the hook and to rotate said head reversely and move said head and said abutment device downwardly out of the way of the twister carriage in the next forward movement of the latter.

10. In a machine for making wire garment hangers having means for bending wire blanks into hanger form having end bends of different lengths, means for twisting said end bends in part together to form a twisted shank including a reciprocatory twister carriage, and means for bending the endportion of the longer .of said end bends into hook form including a rotary head having two rollers both of which are eccentric to the axis of rotation of said head; the major portions of both of said rollers being located upon one semi-circular half of a face of said head, an abutment device, and means operating during the retraction of the twister carriage to move said head upwardly to engage said wire end portion between said rollers and to simultaneously move said abutment device upwardly to engage the same with said twisted shank, to thereafter rotate said head to form the hook and to rotate said head reversely and move said head and said 

